LARAMIE, Wyo. (Aug. 26, 2026) – The Wyoming Cowgirls officially open the 2026 campaign this weekend inside the Arena-Auditorium hosting the Rumble in the Rockies. The Cowgirls welcome in Texas Tech August 28 for a 6:30 p.m., match before closing the tournament with a 1:30 p.m., contest Aug. 30 against St. Thomas.
This weekend will be the first two of 14 home matches this season for the Cowgirls and the first of two home tournaments. Wyoming enters year four under Head Coach Kaylee Prigge. UW has gone 17-13 in each of the previous two seasons and last year, recorded 13 Mountain West victories, its most conference wins in a season since 2019. The Cowgirls also qualified for the Mountain West Volleyball Championships for the first time since the league moved to the previous six-team format in 2021.
Wyoming, who was picked fourth in the Preseason Mountain West Poll, returns nine letterwinners from last season and welcomes in seven newcomers to the 2026 squad. The Cowgirls return two-time All-Mountain West Team honoree Paige Lauterwasser for her senior campaign. In 2025, Lauterwasser led the Cowgirls with 314 kills and was second on the team with 362.5 points and 3.15 digs per set.
Other returners for UW include Rya Fingerlin, Abi Milby, Sara Quigley, Reagan Sharp, Maddy Stucky, Addy Thorington, Evelyn Udezue, Anna Williams and Emma Winter. Quigley and Stucky led the Cowgirls with 707 and 485 assists, respectively as UW deployed a two-setter offense last season. Winter, meanwhile, started the final five matches of last season.
Four freshmen join the Cowgirls this season in Kristina Bozovic (Podgorica, Montenegro), Rylee Heinz (Rocklin, Calif.), Ruby Jensen (Prescott, Ariz.) and Emerson Macias (Murrieta, Calif.). A trio of transfers joins Wyoming this fall. Peyton Carruth (Casper College), Anna Melgren (Houston Christian) and Senna Roberts-Navarro (Seton Hall) all bring collegiate experience to the 2026 squad.
Texas Tech went 10-20 a year ago and won a pair of Big 12 matches. This season, the Red Raiders welcome in four transfer student-athletes, including Maggie Boyd, who was the 2026 AVCA National Beach Player of the Year at UCLA, where she was also a four-time First Team All-America. Senior Reagan Engler was third on the squad last season with 235 kills (2.42 per set) and returns to lead the TTU attack. The Red Raiders deployed a 6-2 offense last season with Katelyn Cochran tallying 444 assists in 2025. Last season, Texas Tech went 2-10 in true road matches.
St. Thomas was a national power at the Division III level and is now in its sixth season playing at the Division I level. The Tommies went 21-10 last season and 11-5 in the Summit League, winning the Sumitt League Tournament and lost in five sets in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament to Iowa State. Anya Schmidt was second on the team in 2025 as a freshman with 342 kills. Morgan Kealy returns to the Tommies for her senior campaign after averaging 10.08 assists per set last season.
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